Read 8 touching celebrity tributes from James Cameron, Russell Crowe, and others, to the great James Horner

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We're still reeling from the news that James Horner, the Oscar-winning composer of Titanic, Aliens and Avatar, passed away Monday in a plane crash. As often happens during tragedies like this, we mourn by thinking about what these people meant to us, even if we never met them, and Horner is no exception. His breathtaking scores, produced over a career that spanned nearly 40 years, moved fans and friends alike, and were able capable of moving his collaborators to tears during the stress of production. So it's no surprise that many in Hollywood and beyond are paying tribute to Horner right now in any way they can.

To emphasize how important Horner was to film, and to remind everyone how much we'll miss him, we've gathered some of the best tributes to the composer below.

James Cameron, who collaborated with Horner on three films (including Aliens and Avatar), penned a touching tribute to the composer for The Hollywood Reporter. You can read the whole thing HERE, but here's an excerpt:

"I asked if he could write some melodies. I believe that a great score really consists of something you can whistle. If that melody gets embedded in your mind, it takes the score to a different level. I drove over to his house and he sat at the piano and said, “I see this as the main theme for the ship." He played it once through and I was crying. Then he played Rose’s theme and I was crying again. They were so bittersweet and emotionally resonant. He hadn’t orchestrated a thing and I knew it was going to be one of cinema’s great scores. No matter how the movie turned out, and no one knew at that point — it could have been a dog — I knew it would be a great score. He thought he had done only five percent of the work but I knew he had cracked the heart and soul."

Russell Crowe, who worked with Horner on the Oscar-winning A Beautiful Mind:

My sincere condolences to the family, loved ones and friends of James Horner. #abeautifulmind